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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26693425">Perilous Affairs</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkylarEQuinn/pseuds/SkylarEQuinn'>SkylarEQuinn</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Persona 3, Persona 4, Persona Series</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 04:42:29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,254</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26693425</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkylarEQuinn/pseuds/SkylarEQuinn</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Involved in a Shadow Attack upon arriving in Iwatodai to attend Gekkoukan High School, Nanako Dojima finds herself swept into the sort of adventure that only seems to exist in science fiction novels. With a new mysterious power called "Persona" and a white knight at her side like Ken Amada, she decides to take on whatever awaits her.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Amada Ken &amp; Dojima Nanako, Amada Ken/Dojima Nanako, Hanamura Yosuke &amp; Seta Souji, Hanamura Yosuke/Seta Souji, Kirijo Mitsuru &amp; Takeba Yukari, Kirijo Mitsuru/Takeba Yukari, Sanada Akihiko &amp; Satonaka Chie, Sanada Akihiko/Satonaka Chie</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Prologue</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It all felt like it was a dream, or more like a nightmare. Either way, it wasn’t as if any of it could actually be happening, right? That would be crazy! The things standing before Nanako Dojima couldn’t be real! They looked like the things that chased her through her nightmares as a child back when she had gotten sick. Something like that couldn’t actually exist! It was impossible!</p><p>She slowly looked up at the sickeningly green sky, an ominously yellow moon shining down upon her. There was no way any of this could be real! Had she fallen asleep at the train station upon her arrival? That could be the only explanation. But then again, she didn’t remember even sitting down on a bench.</p><p>Nanako mentally retraced her steps, trying to ease her anxiety. She had arrived in Iwatodai at around midnight. She remembered stepping off of the train and checking her GPS on her phone to find a route to her new dorm, making sure she had it memorized. And then after she tucked her phone safely back into her pocket, she walked out of the station. There was a sudden strange buzzing in her ears, causing her to squeeze her eyes shut. But when she opened them back up, she was in the midst of this nightmarish place with some form of grotesque monster towering over her. So at what point had she fallen asleep?</p><p>This monster took a step toward her, lowering itself into a fighting stance. Though Nanako wasn’t sure whether it had eyes or not, she felt all of its attention focus on her. It let out a soul-ripping howl, causing the high-schooler to stumble and fall backwards.</p><p>She squeezed her eyes shut, bracing herself for whatever fate awaited her. Her breath hitched as she grit her teeth. Why now? Why did she have to die now? There were still so many things she had to do! She didn’t even get to attend the school she had received an academic scholarship to! After all of the begging she had to do to end up there, it didn’t seem fair that she had to meet her demise before even getting to enjoy her new school.</p><p>“Caesar!” a man’s voice suddenly shouted, startling Nanako out of her thoughts. She opened her eyes to see a large, white suit of armor floating before her. A silver-haired man in a black suit with a gray dress shirt and red necktie stood on the other side of the monster, holding what looked like a silver gun in his left hand.</p><p>“Kala-Nemi!” another man shouted, grabbing Nanako’s attention. Another man, dressed similarly to the other but younger with shaggy, brown hair that swooped over his forehead, stood to the right of Nanako. What looked like a large robot of sorts suddenly swooped down from the sky and attacked the monster, causing it to unleash a howl of pain.</p><p>“Get her out of here, Ken!” the silver-haired man shouted to his companion as the white suit of armor flew forward to attack the monster.</p><p>Before anything around her could process in her mind, Nanako found herself lifted up into the arms of the darker-haired man and carried a safer distance away. Her heart was racing in her chest as she tried to figure out just what exactly was going on. If this was a dream, then what were these strange men doing there?</p><p>“You okay?” the man asked Nanako, setting her down. “Sorry to surprise you like that, but you didn’t look like you were going to move on your own any time soon.” Embarrassed, he ran a hand through his hair, face tinted red. “Are you good to sit here for a moment while I go help my friend?” He examined her face for some sort of answer, but sighed when she remained in her stoic shock. “Yell if you need me.” With that, he ran off toward the monster.</p><p>Nanako struggled to gather her bearings. There was no way any of this was real! She had to be dreaming! How else would she be able to explain what she was seeing? These two men who came to rescue her were shooting themselves in the head and not dying! Not only were they not dying, but those strange robots and armor would show up every time they did it! If something like this was reality, Nanako no longer wanted any part in it!</p><p>After a short while, both men approached Nanako, each offering her a hand. She stared up at each of them for a moment before allowing them to help her to her feet. Her legs trembled beneath her as she stood there and stared at both men. What was there to say to these two mysterious men who had saved her?</p><p>“Are you a Gekkoukan student?” the silvery-haired man asked her, examining the uniform she was wearing. “We went there back in our day.”</p><p>“Y-Yeah,” Nanako stammered. “I’m a third year transfer student from Yasogami High in Inaba. My name is Nanako Dojima.”</p><p>“I’m Akihiko Sanada,” the man replied, “and this is Ken Amada.” His gray eyes wandered down to her bag. “I was going to ask what a student was doing out so late, but it appears you’ve just arrived. Unfortunately, we have some questions for you, Dojima-san, so we can’t let you go just yet. Please come with us.”</p><p>She slowly stepped away from the two men. “N-No,” she slowly said. “I can’t come with you. I don’t know you. Whether you saved me from that thing or not doesn’t mean I can trust you. I-I’ve been taken before, and I…” Her voice trailed off. Did these men really need to know that she was kidnapped as a child?</p><p>“We don’t want to hurt you,” Amada quickly told her. “We just want to take you to a doctor to see if you’re okay. Someone like you isn’t supposed to be out and about like this during the Dark Hour.”</p><p>“Someone like me?” she asked, instinctively curling in on herself as she took a couple more steps back. “I don’t understand what you mean. What is the Dark Hour?” Her eyes wandered up toward the sky as it suddenly changed back to the normal night sky, the moon a pale white and the sky returning to its inky black color. This wasn’t a dream. Those two men were still standing before her. “What is…?” her voice trailed off as her vision began growing darker. She could feel herself falling, but for some reason, she never hit the ground.</p><p>.</p><p>Mitsuru Kirijo looked down at the high school girl who was sleeping on the couch in her office. She frowned out of pity and pulled her long, red hair into a ponytail. Her dark eyes then turned to Akihiko and Ken, who were napping in the armchairs opposite the girl. How was it possible for them to find a girl who had just transferred from a town like Inaba? Could she be related to someone who had been part of that Grand Prix all those years ago?</p><p>She walked over to her desk and sifted through the girl’s transfer file for Gekkoukan High School. “Nanako Dojima,” she muttered, reading her name off. “Have I heard that name before?” Mitsuru frowned, scanning the file for any sort of information that could prove useful to her.</p><p>“Where is she?!” Souji Seta demanded, practically throwing himself into the room with Akihiko hot on his heels. “Where is Nanako?!”</p><p>“Seta?” Mitsuru asked, blinking at him in surprise. “Don’t tell me you know this girl?” She gestured to the unconscious Nanako on the couch as she thought about it, things suddenly clicking in her head. “Ah, yes. You lived in Inaba at one point, didn’t you? Of course you’d be familiar with this girl.”</p><p>He dropped to his knees in front of the couch as his cousin slowly opened her eyes. His hands grasped hers tightly as he watched her regain consciousness. “Nanako, are you okay?” he worriedly asked, letting go with one hand to press it to her forehead to check for fever. “What happened to you?”</p><p>“Big bro?” she slowly asked, orientating herself. “The sky was green and there was a huge tower in the distance. Some creature attacked me but I was saved by two men. I can’t remember their names. Where are we? What are you doing here?”</p><p>“This is where I work,” Souji replied, sighing in relief. “It’s the Kirijo Building. Chie works here too. You must’ve fainted at the train station. I’m so glad Akihiko and Ken found you. I was so worried when I heard your name come up that I ran here and entered without my boss’s permission.” He sheepishly smiled at Mitsuru, who just stared at the scene before her. “Sorry about that, Mitsuru,” he quickly said before turning back to Nanako. “We should get you to your dorm so you can rest properly.”</p><p>“We still need to question her,” Mitsuru cut in.</p><p>The silver-haired man stood up. “Question her on what? It was just a nightmare she had,” he insisted, unable to bear the idea of Mitsuru interrogating his cousin. “If you want to question her that badly, can it wait until after school tomorrow? She needs to keep her grades up for that scholarship.”</p><p>Mitsuru sighed. “Very well then,” she replied. “I’ll have our agent at the school escort her here after classes. If it will help you feel better, you may sit in during the questioning.”</p><p>Souji nodded to his boss. “Thank you. I’ll get her home now.”</p><p>.</p><p>The next morning, Nanako awoke in her bed at the dorm, disorientation consuming her. Had the night before been a dream? She barely remembered Souji driving her to the dorm after waking up in that office, having dozed off the whole ride. Now that she thought about it, she was certain that he must’ve brought her in and tucked her in. Typical Souji.</p><p>She prepared for school and barely made the shuttle to Tatsumi Port Island. Her mind drifted elsewhere as she watched the ocean below her. Had she really just dreamed up everything that had happened at the train station? She had never been much of a lucid dreamer, but it had all felt so real. There was no way it couldn’t have been a dream. It was scientifically impossible.</p><p>Walking through the school gates, she heard the squeals of the girls around her, but she was too lost in her own thoughts to really pay attention. It wasn’t until she ran into someone and nearly fell that she snapped back to reality. She felt an arm sweep around her waist and a hand grab hers to steady her, restoring her balance.</p><p>Nanako looked up to see one of the men from the night before, the dark-haired one. Her eyes widened as she realized what she had seen wasn’t a dream. How else could he be standing before her with a soft smile on his lips? She noticed that he was wearing a security uniform with the Gekkoukan symbol on it and suddenly felt even more safe.</p><p>“Good to see that you’re feeling better, Dojima-san,” he told her. “Don’t worry, you didn’t hit your head or anything last night. Akihiko caught you and carried you to the Kirijo Building. You scared us a bit, passing out like that.”</p><p>She stared up at him, brown eyes wide. “Thank you for helping me,” she finally said once she found her voice. “I really do appreciate it.” Her eyes looked past him toward the school, eager to focus on something other than his handsome face. “So you’re security here?”</p><p>“It pays the bills,” he answered, letting go of her. He walked beside her as they approached the school. “So you’re a relative of Souji, huh?”</p><p>“He’s technically my cousin, but he’s always felt more like a big brother,” she replied, smiling fondly as she thought of him. “We spent a lot of time together back when I was a little girl.”</p><p>“That’s always a good thing to hear. I had someone like that too when I was a kid.” He snapped his fingers as he seemed to remember something. “Hey, meet me at the gates after school. Mitsuru wants me to take you to the Kirijo Building when classes are over. I’ll be waiting for you.” With that, he ran off to break up a heated argument between two males students.</p><p>Around her, Nanako could pick up small bits of gossip. “How does the transfer student know Amada?” “Do you think she could help me get close to him?” “I wish Amada would catch me whenever I stumbled!” Deciding to ignore it all, she hurried off to class, not wanting to be late on her first day.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When lunch came around, Nanako was more than happy to go to the roof to take a breath and collect herself. She placed her hands on the cool railing and closed her eyes, inhaling deeply through her nose and releasing it out her mouth. Repeating the process a few times, she was finally calmed and had regained her appetite. Making her way to the corner of the roof, she opened her bento and smiled at how delicious it smelled.</p><p>“What are you doing up here alone?” a voice asked. Ken Amada stepped onto the roof from the stairwell. “You’re not avoiding people, are you, Dojima-chan?” He crouched in front of her. “You know, lunch is more enjoyable with more people.”</p><p>“Says who?” she grumbled at him. “Thanks to you, people haven’t left me alone all day. Why didn’t you tell me that a rent-a-cop like you was such a big deal here? That way, I could have avoided you.”</p><p>“That’s not a nice thing to say to your savior, now is it?” he asked, grinning at her. Ken chuckled to himself for a moment before saying, “You really are family of Souji. It’s always the poker face with him too when he doesn’t feel like talking.” Taking a chance, he sat down beside Nanako. “What did you bring for lunch anyway?”</p><p>“Just some onigiri and octopus hot dogs,” Nanako replied, not even looking up at him. She picked up one of the hot dogs with her chopsticks and took a small bite. After swallowing, she looked up at him. “I make it myself. Here, try it.” She picked up another hot dog with her chopsticks and held it in his direction.</p><p>His face  flushed a deep crimson. “I don’t think that’s appropriate,” he quickly replied, almost tripping over his own words. Ken stood up. “I just came to check on you. You seemed like the shy type. But if I may give you some advice, I think you should make some friends. When you’re a transfer student, bonds with other people can really make it a lot easier.” He began to walk away, waving to her without turning around. “See you after school, Dojima-chan!”</p><p>For a moment, Nanako just sat there, stunned by him. Her heart began to race as she heard a powerful voice in her head. “Thou art I,” it said, “and I am Thou. Thou hast established a new bond of the Justice Arcana. This bond will guide you through your fate as a soul which matches yours.”</p><p>Nanako snapped out of it in a cold sweat, gripping the sides of her head. She checked her watch and saw that lunch break was over. Cleaning up her barely-touched bento, she hurried toward the door to the school. “Justice, huh?” she mumbled to herself. “What in the world could that possibly mean?”</p><p>.</p><p>The rest of the day, Nanako mulled over the word “justice” in her head. What did that voice mean, and where did it come from? Lost in her thoughts, she failed to pay attention during the afternoon lectures. Some of the girls noticed it and offered to let her have their notes if she would introduce them specially to Amada-san, considering that Nanako was the only female student they’ve ever seen him joke with.</p><p>“How did you meet him?” the girl who sat in front of her asked, twisting herself in her chair at the end of the day. “It’s strange to think that you were so familiar with him on your first day here. Are you two related or something?”</p><p>“I met him last night,” Nanako replied, putting her homework and books into her bag. “I got a little lost at the station when I arrived and he happened to be coming by and helped me get to my dorm. That’s all.”</p><p>The girl looked as if she didn’t believe Nanako, but went with it. “So your name’s Nanako Dojima, right? Is it okay if I call you Nanako-chan?”</p><p>“Um, sure,” she slowly replied, curious about if she had managed to make a new friend on her first day. “My big bro always called me Nana-chan.”</p><p>“My name’s Mikoto Hasegawa, but you can call me Miko-chan!” the other replied with a bright smile. She twisted her shoulder-length ginger hair around her finger as she smiled at her new friend. “Starting tomorrow, let’s eat lunch together. I was the transfer student last year, so I know how lonely it is to eat by yourself.”</p><p>“Thank you, Miko-chan,” Nanako softly replied. “That makes me happy.”</p><p>“Don’t mention it,” she giggled. “We transfers have to look out for each other.” Her eyes then drifted past Nanako to the doorway near them. “Amada-san? What are you doing here? Are we in your way? I-I’m so sorry! We can move!”</p><p>“You’re fine, Hasegawa, but I do need to take Dojima with me, if you don’t mind,” Ken stated, giving the girl his most charming smile. “Her big bro is a friend of mine, and he wants to see her. Let’s go, Dojima-chan.”</p><p>Nanako quickly stood up, awkwardly bowing to Mikoto. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow, Miko-chan,” she told her. “Thank you for taking time to make me feel less lonely today.” She then rushed over to Ken and sighed. “Do you have to draw attention to yourself at all times? You that full of yourself, rent-a-cop?”</p><p>“I told you not to call me that,” Ken complained, leading her down the hallway. “You may not know this, but I actually have a good reputation here.”</p><p>“You don’t say,” she sarcastically replied, rolling her eyes. “I’m pretty sure I’ve experienced every single level of that today in some way, shape, or form. If I knew I would be dealing with a celebrity in exchange for being saved, I’m almost wondering if it would have been better to let the monster get me.”</p><p>“Your sense of humor is kinda scary, Dojima-chan,” he laughed. “You’re completely different from the way Souji described you.”</p><p>“Souji still only sees me as a seven-year-old,” she laughed. “And enough with the ‘Dojima-chan’. Just call me Nanako, okay? There’s no need to be so formal, especially since I’m much younger than you.”</p><p>“Not that much,” Ken sighed, wearing a pained expression. “Your words cut me deep, Nanako. How old do you think I am?” His expression became hopeless. “All my life, I’ve wanted to be treated as if I’m older than what I am, but this isn’t what I wanted.” He groaned. “Come on, Nanako. Let’s just get going before you ruin my day further.”</p><p>With a skip in her step, she obediently followed, wondering how else to knock him off balance.</p>
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